Derain, Balthus, Giacometti: An artistic friendship

2 June-29 Oct. Hailing it as "a new kind of exhibition", the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris explores the friendship between three major 20th-century artists: André Derain (1880–1954), Balthus (1908–2001) and Alberto Giacometti (1901–1966).

The exhibition examines the common artistic ground shared by the three friends and mutual admirers, all of whom were driven by a strong modernist desire while also harking back to the art of distant civilisations. There are more than 350 paintings, sculptures, works on paper and photographs on display, dating mainly from the period between the 1930s and the 1960s.

In addition to the Giacometti works, the exhibition includes the greater part of Derain's legacy, not shown in Paris since the 1995 retrospective at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, and the most comprehensive overview of Balthus since the Centre Pompidou retrospective in 1983.